Fatdaddy

I’m thinking about painting my car with kandy paint and was wondering the pro and con by people that have actually used it.

Bluestripe67

Are you concerned with the application process or the overall appearence? I may be out of bounds, but I tend to think of candy color paints with '70's customs and that means custom fiberglass work. Dennis

Factoid

Since you like it and that’s all that really matters, we can proceed from there and not get into a debate about it on a Corvette.

The pros are all the things you like about it. The cons are finding a painter skilled in applying it properly (three stage paints can be tricky), repairing scratches or damage as it is difficult to blend, and getting fiberglass panels perfectly smooth as ANY wrinkle, wave or defect will show up. The last con is cost. Typically, 50% more than a standard paint job.

If you do it, we will require many pictures!

kellsdad

Look for a forum member named Dub. He owns a Corvette body specialty shop and is very knowledgeable. He taught me a lot when I needed to learn enough to choose a custom paint job.

Fatdaddy

Thanks for all the info I do have a painter who is very qualified. Does kandy paint fade easily. I’m leaning towards a kandy red. Just trying to make up my mind.

vettebuyer6369

I had multiple Corvettes with custom/candy paint jobs in the 70s and 80s when that was popular. None of them had any custom body work other than a bolt on hood or something, so no matter how wild it was, it was something that could be easily returned to stock.

My experience was, some people love them, some people hated them. The biggest problem I had in a practical nature was, it was near-impossible to repair or touch up. Colors seemed pretty tough to match, blend, etc if you needed to fix something.

Im sure pros like DUB can expand on the particulars.

Dad's '66 427

Mazda has a current color, Soul Red, I believe that looks pretty good, especially on a sunny day. The translucence and the way it changes with the shapes of the car and how light hits it is pretty cool.

cv67

Do it, larger metal flake and pearls are coming back
Saw a new F250 4x with the darkest metal flake brown Ive ever seen. Gorgeous

Bland colors are, bland. Be different!

GTOguy

I agree with most of the above. No need to customize the body...the paint will make the statement. Kandy paints looked good then, and look good now. They are harder to lay down and harder to match. With today's materials, probably just as durable as any other color (think bass boats). Candy Apple Red on a vintage Corvette? Oh, yeah. Google Big John Mazmanian '61 Corvette.....he bought one new in '61 and had it candy painted and broke some records with it drag racing,.....IMO, Candy colors were made for these cars.

Geralds57

I had a 61 painted candy red along time ago. I found that the gold base vs a silver base looks much better. The gold base will give it a deeper red color.

AZDoug

Black base, gold pearl, red candy. Very dark red instead of "candy apple"
Doug

csherman

Fat Daddy
Typically - a candy paint is a translucent color over a silver or gold base then that is clear coated
The more coats of the candy the more rich the color gets
I have done several
They are beautiful
Drawbacks
- Cost
- Ability to lay it down - it is easy to mottle and easy to tiger stripe
- most painters cant do an all over - good candy job and get it right
- Hard to repaint if it gets damaged - very hard to blend and match because of the layers

May I suggest an alternative
There are many many 3 stage paints - from the OE - that can be shot as a base coat clear coat
I would strongly suggest that route - especially for a driver

No - they dont fade out - long as you use good high quality materials

If you are looking for a good looking candy red - look at Chrysler and GM 3 stages - and see if the formula is available in a 2 stage
you will thank me

GTOguy

Mazmanian's '61

Fatdaddy

I think I might go with URE KEM ruby surprise 3 stage it looks pretty nice

Rob_64-365

My car is candy apple red, and how cool it looks in various light conditions, but any chip or scratch, you can forget about matching. I bought the car this color & if I repaint, it will be back to its factory color.

GTOguy

Rob, that color absolutely kills it on those body lines. I have photos of a customized '64 coupe that I think belonged to Bunkie Knudsen that I took at the Pierce Arrow museum in Buffalo, NY a year or two ago....it was the same exact color.....you could tell there was gold under the paint. Stunning.

vdetel

The Mazda color you speak of is " Soul Red Crystal Metallic " It is a 3 stage paint , the cost is $1000.00 more than a very good 2 stage paint not including the extra labor cost . The car cannot be painted in pieces ( hood-doors-truck-body , then assembled . It has to be painted assembled and it makes it harder. I found this color and was going to paint my resto that color but then I seen the 2019 Cadillac red 3 stage paint . The 2018 Jeep has a similar red . Almost ALL new automotive colors are 3 stage paint . the best way to find a color is visit ALL of the dealerships to find what you want - good luck,

csherman

That is an incorrect statement - Not ALL new automotive paints are three stage (there are quite a few - Pearls and Red and some 3 and 4 stage blacks)
Almost all are 2 stage - base clear - there some exceptions and are some single stages still being used

Dealerships and Color chip books are the best way to look for a color
visit a shop and ask to look at a color deck - most have a big bank of colors so they can match variances - this helps them to match and tint color
Also visit a jobber / paint shop like Finish Master - they have different paint lines and can help you look for colors
Once you find several you like - see if the formula can be sprayed in a 2 stage
Then so a spray out panel
I like to do big panels - not the little ones - helps see the color in a bigger way - you can see the flop and metallic and how it lays and changes.

Picking the right color is hard - very
Unless your doing restorations

Frankie the Fink

This says it all for me, I like some (not all) candy paint jobs, but (personal opinion) they look passe to me on classic Corvettes and not a good idea at all for a driven car....

csherman

Frankie I agree
Some look great
Some look blotchy and in the jams you can see the gold or silver basecoat
Personally I would never do one on a personal veh unless it was a show car but thats me
When they are well done - they can be really nice....